Defence Awards Contract to Support Frigates

Chief Executive Officer of the Defence Materiel Organisation (DMO), Mr Warren King, today announced that a multi-million dollar contract had been signed with Thales Australia for in-service support on four Royal Australian Navy (RAN) ships.

Mr King said the $46 million contract provides support to the Adelaide Class Guided Missile Frigate’s (FFG) Combat Systems and offers increased job security to the 48 staff within Thales that have been engaged under the interim contract.

“This contract will ensure the FFG Class Combat System, which is among the most capable in the world, is effectively sustained until the RAN transitions to the new Air Warfare Destroyers,” Mr King said.

“The Commonwealth looks forward to working with Thales in maintaining the war fighting capabilities of the FFG Fleet.”

Mr King said the contract also covers on-board systems and associated support facilities, and will be delivered from the company’s facilities in Sydney and Perth.

The versatile FFG combat system was developed by Thales as part of the FFG Upgrade Project which concluded in 2011 and was the most technologically advanced warship upgrade program ever performed in Australia.

At the core of the upgrade, the Australian Distributed Architecture Combat System (ADACS) integrated various shipboard sensors, effectors, tactical data links and support systems to provide the frigates’ command teams with a common battle space management environment.